


Let Them Eat Cake

by thedrunkenwerewolf



Series: The Baron's Apprentice [2]
Category: Neko no Ongaeshi | The Cat Returns
Genre: Birthday Cake, Cake, Family Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Mages, TCR Birthday Bash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:42:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25507663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thedrunkenwerewolf/pseuds/thedrunkenwerewolf
Summary: A Baron's Apprentice sidepiece. Baron bakes Haru a cake for her birthday, saying nobody's allowed to eat it before Haru's birthday the next morning. So Muta wakes Toto and Haru up at midnight to eat it. Written for the TCR birthday bash 2020.
Relationships: Renaldo Moon & Yoshioka Haru
Series: The Baron's Apprentice [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1836739
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7





	Let Them Eat Cake

**Author's Note:**

> written for the TCR birthday bash prompt 'midnight snack'. A Baron's Apprentice sidepiece and part of my Ancient Magus Bride AU.
> 
> As with all my fics, please please review/comment after reading. Even if that really is just "cool story bro, needs more unicorns." Comments keep us writers writing and sharing our work :) and in my case, generally mean more stories for this fandom and the TCR Magus AU series ;)
> 
> Enjoy.
> 
> \- Wolfie.

**Let Them Eat Cake**

The cake was exquisite. They knew this because they'd watched him bake it, lovingly ice it, and delicately place the strawberries on top. Almost with military precision. But of course, this was Baron Humbert Von Gikkingen they were observing, so everything had too be just right. 'Nothing but the best for Miss Haru,' he'd said. 'Especially since it's her first birthday with us'. Toto and Muta had agreed. They all wanted her day to be special, and celebrated properly. Especially since the young apprentice mage hadn't ever had a proper celebration of her birthday. By Haru's own admission, she'd always celebrated it on her own, with a single candle stuck in a store-bought cupcake – a bakery one if she could afford it - blowing out the candle and wishing every year for a better life.

This year, Baron vowed, would be different. She would celebrate the day of her birth with friends – with _family –_ and she would have the most wonderful day. And the most spectacular cake, he promised her.

Muta, Toto, and Haru had all nodded, salivating at the thought. Everyone knew Baron's baking was the best in the land, if not the whole world. So the day before her birthday, Baron rolled up his shirtsleeves to his elbows and set to work while the others watched, trying not to drool too much. Though Muta had an especially hard time managing that, fond as he was of Baron's baked goods. He was drooling and licking his lips so much Haru considered getting a teatowel for him. So when Baron placed the final strawberry on the expertly iced Victoria sponge it was a relief.

"There, done," Baron declared, dusting the flour off his hands. "Mary Berry, eat your heart out."

Baron then looked up to see the rest of the Mage Bureau staring at his creation and salivating. A lot like Pavlov's Dogs, only with cake.

"Can we have some now?" Haru bravely ventured, hopeful Baron would say yes. After all, she never asked her Mage Master for very much. So she was hoping he'd allow it. But instead he shook his head.

"Now Miss Haru," he said, gentle but firm. "This here is your birthday cake. Only to be eaten on your birthday." He looked at the rather crestfallen Bureau, but remained unmoved. "This cake isn't to be eaten by _anyone_ until tomorrow morning," he told them all, opening up the fridge and carefully placing the lovely cake inside it. Closing the door and casting a protection spell on the fridge so it couldn't be opened until the morning of Haru's birthday. Toto and Haru both groaned at this new development, but Muta only crossed his arms across his barrel-shaped chest and frowned.

"Alright," Muta said. "Tomorrow morning it is then."

Baron looked at Muta with suspicion at his quick agreement to the demand. Usually Muta would try to convince him to let them have cake now. But it was so rare they all did what he said that he let it slide and quietly celebrated his little victory.

. . .

Later that night however, was a different story entirely. Muta lay awake in bed, checking his watch, waiting for the time to come. At about five minutes to midnight, he poked his head out onto the landing. After making sure that Baron was, in fact, sound asleep, he crept into Toto's room to gently rouse the crow awake. Toto mumbling drowsily as he trudged into wakefulness.

"Oi, Birdbrain wake up. It's almost time."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm comin'," he muttered. "Is The Baron asleep?"

"Yep. And snorin' too. Now c'mon, we gotta go wake up Chicky."

"Right."

The cat and the crow tiptoed quietly across the landing and into Haru's room. Taking care to avoid the creaky floorboard that would undoubtedly alert Baron of their midnight sneaking. Once they were safely inside Haru's bedroom with the door closed behind them, they gently called out to the young mage apprentice. Careful not to be too loud as they called her name.

"Haru... Haaaaaru..."

"Wake up lil Chicky."

Haru grumbled and rolled over in her sleep, resisting waking for as long as she could. But Toto and Muta were insistent.

"Come on Chicky, wakey wakey. We have a surprise for you."

Haru gave up trying to go back to sleep after that and opened her eyes to peer at them both over her duvet.

"Guys it's..." she glanced at her little cow clock on her bedside table and squinted. "Nearly midnight, can't this wait til morning?"

"We promise it'll be worth it," Toto reassured her.

Muta nodded in agreement. "And besides," he added, Baron's cake protection spell's gonna wear off in a few minutes. We thought you'd like to join us for some birthday cake."

_That_ made Haru smile. She'd forgotten all about the cake. "Alright, let me grab my dressing gown."

. . .

A couple of minutes later, all three of them had quietly snuck downstairs and were all crowding around the still-magically-protected fridge, with Muta checking his watch and counting down the minutes. Ready to open the door the _second_ the shielding spell wore off.

Only Haru was unsure. "Is this even going to open at midnight?" she asked. "Baron said 'tomorrow morning'."

"Chicky, I know a fair bit about Mage Magic, and more than enough about Fae Rules. In approximately sixty seconds it's technically gonna be 'tomorrow morning'. So we won't _technically_ be breaking Baron's rule."

Toto nodded. "It's the only time Fae and Creation rules work in our favour," he added.

"When Baron bars us from having cake until a certain time?" Haru asked.

The pair nodded. "And speaking of cake," Muta looked at his watch again. "It's 12:01. Happy birthday, Chicky! I do believe it's time for cake! I'll just do the honour of lifting it down."

Haru let the big cat get the cake off the top shelf of the fridge and set it on the dining table. The cake itself was unchanged from yesterday afternoon and looked just as delicious as it had then. Haru was about to reach for one of the forks Toto had set out to dig in when Muta stopped her.

"Ah-ah-ah, it's birthday cake. So before we all eat it, we have to do candles," he said, sticking said candles into the fresh cream icing and lighting them with a quick spell. "And we gotta sing Happy Birthday."

Haru set down her fork and waited as they got ready.

"Okay, ready?" Muta asked, him and Toto clearing their throats to start singing Happy Birthday in the darkened kitchen. They only got as far as "Happy birth-" when the light flickered on.

In the doorway stood a very exasperated Baron in his pyjamas and fluffy red dressing gown. He sighed slowly.

"couldn't you lot wait?" he asked.

"No," Muta answered for all of them.

Baron sighed heavily, his disappointment obvious. "But I was planning something _spectacular!"_ he protested. "I was going to have a light show and everything!" He huffed. "You really couldn't wait a few measly hours?"

"No," Muta repeated. "Besides, everyone's seen your cheesy light show already."

"But... but..." Baron tried to argue, coming up quite blank. "I had a plan," he said weakly.

"Well we have a better plan, and that involved cake and singing Chicky Happy Birthday. So quit complaining and come join us before the wax melts all over the cake."

They watched Baron sigh in defeat, shoulders sagging, and trudge over to stand between Muta and Toto. After which they all sang Happy Birthday to Haru, who couldn't stop smiling. When they were done and she'd blown out the candles, they all cheered and the cake was served. While she was eating, Muta handed Haru a wrapped gift which was a family photograph in a frame with the four of them. A celebration of not just her birthday but her joining their family. Nearly reducing her to tears because she'd never been in a family photograph since she was small. But there were hugs all around, and cake, and those were pretty good distractions. Baron was still brooding a little over his lost opportunity, and she sat down beside him, patting his shoulder and smiling gently.

"Don't worry Baron, maybe next year you'll have your light show."


End file.
